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3.0 Understanding the Place—Historical Context
3.1 Introduction
This historical analysis draws on the 1994 Conservation Study. It provides an understanding of the
history of the memorial’s design and construction, its original siting in 1941 on the main land axis of
Griffin’s Plan, directly in front of Old Parliament House; and its relocation, realignment and
remodelling in 1968 to its current location on the western corner of King George V Terrace.
A comparative analysis of this memorial with other King George V memorials, Australian war
memorials within Australia and other interwar Art Deco buildings in Canberra is provided in Section
3.7. The analysis provides historical and stylistic context which frame the discussion of the heritage
values of the memorial; its rarity and characteristic values.
3.2 Background History
3.2.1 Ngunnawal Country
King George V Memorial lies on land that has been part of the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal
people for thousands of years. Their descendants continue to live in Canberra and the surrounding
region. The historical record gives some indication of the activities of Aboriginal people in the
general area, including ceremonies and camps.1 Numbers of Aboriginal people dwindled
dramatically following European settlement, possibly associated with a smallpox epidemic in 1830,
influenza and a measles epidemic in the 1860s. 2
Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that the area of Old Parliament House and the
Aboriginal Tent Embassy was once used ‘as a gathering and meeting ground for Ngun(n)awal,
Monaro, Wiradjuri and Ngarigo’3 people.
Records from ACT Heritage indicate that a range of artefacts were found in the area of Old
Parliament House during its construction.4 Artefacts included scrapers, points, an axe head and a
boomerang which was found in the Rose Garden by a gardener in 1927. 5 These artefacts attest to
the use of the area by the Aboriginal community prior to the construction of the National Capital.
In more recent times the former site of the King George V Memorial and its surrounds has become
an important focus for protest movements by the Aboriginal community.
1
2
3
4
5
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 41.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 47.
ACT Heritage Register Online (HeRO) data file 20130403, provided by ACT Heritage, 2 April 2013, p 1.
ibid.
Bluett, WP (1954): The Aborigines of the Canberra District at the Arrival of the White Man. Paper
presented to the Canberra and District Archaeological Society, 29 May 1954.
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The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, established as a protest site in 1972, continues to be actively used
by the Aboriginal community as a national meeting place and a symbol of protest6 (refer to Section
3.5).
3.2.2 Colonial History
European colonisation of the area commenced in the 1820s with farming and grazing properties.
There were small and large estates, the latter including Duntroon owned by the Campbell family on
which the subject site lies. This estate straddled both sides of the Molonglo River and the land on
which the subject site lies appears to have been used for grazing.7 Following Federation in 1901, a
long process began to establish a national capital for the new country and, in 1911, land in the
vicinity of what is now Canberra was chosen and purchased by the Commonwealth Government.
3.2.3 Planning the National Capital
An international competition to design the new city was finalised in 1912 with the winners being
Walter and Marion Griffin from Chicago (Figure 3.23).
When Griffin designed the layout for Canberra he made ingenious use of the area’s natural
features. He likened the whole site to:
… an irregular amphitheatre- with Ainslie at the north east in the rear, flanked on either side by Black Mountain
and Pleasant Hill, all forming the top galleries; with the slopes to the water, the auditorium; with the waterway
and flood basin the area.8
Griffin used the features within and surrounding what is now the Parliament House Vista to project
axial lines that provided the fundamental form for the centre of the city. 9 The central land axis ran
from Mount Ainslie through Camp Hill (the site of Old Parliament House) to Capital Hill (the site of
New Parliament House) and then nearly 50 kilometres further in to Mount Bimberi. 10 Contributing to
the shape of the Vista, Griffin laid out across the land axis two further axes at right angles, the
municipal axis and the water axis. Both ran in a north west-south west direction parallel to one
another.
6
7
8
9
10
20
ACT Heritage Register Online (HeRO) data file 20130403, provided by ACT Heritage, 2 April 2013, and
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 44.
Parkes Place and the National Rose Garden Heritage Management Plan Volume 1, by Duncan Marshall,
Geoff Butler, Context Pty Ltd, Dr Dianne Firth and Maureen Ross, for the National Capital Authority, 2011,
p 48.
Griffin WB 1913, ‘The Federal Capital: Report Explanatory of the Preliminary General Plan’, Canberra,
Department of Home Affairs, October 1913 p 3, cited in Parkes Place and the National Rose Garden
Heritage Management Plan Volume 1, by Duncan Marshall, Geoff Butler, Context Pty Ltd, Dr Dianne Firth
and Maureen Ross, for the National Capital Authority, 2011, p 52.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 51.
Griffin WB 1955 [1912], ‘Original Report’, reprinted with corrections in, Parliament of the Commonwealth of
Australia, Senate, Report from the Select Committee appointed to inquire into and report upon the
development of Canberra, September 1955, Appendix B, cited in Parkes Place and the National Rose
Garden Heritage Management Plan Volume 1, by Duncan Marshall, Geoff Butler, Context Pty Ltd, Dr
Dianne Firth and Maureen Ross, for the National Capital Authority, 2011, p 52.
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The municipal axis also delineates the northern boundary arm of what became the National
Triangle. The western arm of the triangle is formed by a secondary axis running from Capital Hill to
City Hill and its eastern arm by another secondary axis running from Capital Hill towards Mt
Pleasant. Commonwealth Avenue and its bridge now follow the western arm, while Kings Avenue
and bridge follow the eastern arm. All of the Griffins axial lines are important in defining the
Parliament House Vista11 (refer to Figure 1.1).
Griffin planned for Capital Hill to be the focal eminence of the city and his aim was to have a
stepped pinnacle treatment up to this area. Thus, by default, height restrictions were placed on
buildings in this area such that they did not impede the vista from the summit of Capital Hill or from
the Old Parliament House lower down (Figure 3.24).12
The Griffins also planned Canberra so that separate urban functions or activities were conducted in
different centres. They placed the functions of the Federal Government in the National Triangle
area south of the Molonglo River and this area took precedence over all other functional centres. 13
While many of Griffin’s other functional divisions did not materialise, the centre for the National
Government is the least changed from Griffin’s original intension. While development within the
vista did not remain as Griffin planned, the overall effect remains.
In contrast, the area Griffin planned for a casino recreation area at the northern end of the land axis,
at the foot of Mount Ainslie, became the location for the Australian War Memorial completed in 1941
(Figure 3.25). In addition to the casino Griffin had also envisaged an open, landscaped ‘broad
formal parkway’ with an undeveloped centre flanked by foliage to set off the residences on either
side, in his later plans he identified this as ‘Prospect Parkway’. 14 This vision was however not
realised as the space eventually evolved into Anzac Parade. Instead of the contrast between
relaxation and serious governing from one end of the axis to the other, the presence of the
memorial and parade at the northern end ensured they became the home to a matter of greater
gravity as memorials to those killed in war. This also elevated the War Memorial to a new status
and, therefore, exerted a major influence on the Parliament House Vista north of the lake from that
of a pleasant parkway to a ceremonial precinct completed with the construction of Anzac Parade in
1965.
While Griffin had intended that the Prospect Parkway would be lined by memorials, the presence of
the War Memorial at the end of the avenue led to the erection along it of memorials to those men
and women who served in the wars. These in turn reinforced the formal nature of this part of the
vista (Figures 3.8–3.11).
The King George V Memorial was one of the earliest structures built within the National Triangle
following the construction of Old Parliament House in 1927 (Figure 3.25). Originally the memorial
11
12
13
14
Parkes Place and the National Rose Garden Heritage Management Plan Volume 1, by Duncan Marshall,
Geoff Butler, Context Pty Ltd, Dr Dianne Firth and Maureen Ross, for the National Capital Authority, 2011,
p 53.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 53.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 53.
Anzac Parade—Canberra Heritage Management Plan, by Duncan Marshall, Geoff Bulter, Craig Burton,
Chris Johnston, Dr David Young and Dr Michael Pearson, for the National Capital Authority, 2012, p23-24
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was positioned in the centre of the Parliamentary Vista, now in its current location it still remains
within both the National Triangle and the Parliamentary Vista.
3.2.4 Old Parliament House
Although planning for Australia’s new capital began in 1912, infrastructure work had hardly
commenced when World War 1 began. The need to move Canberra on quickly and cheaply
following the war saw the decision for the construction of a ‘provisional’ Parliament House made by
the government. John Smith Murdoch, Chief Architect in the Department of Works, designed the
building, and the site chosen for its location was at a lower elevation to Griffin’s planned Capital Hill
summit. The chosen site on Camp Hill was still a prominent and strategic location and lay at the
southern end of Griffin’s main land axis, just below Capital Hill. This site continues to contribute to
the planned aesthetic qualities of the National Triangle 15 (refer to Figure 1.2).
Construction of Old Parliament House began in 1923 and work was completed in 1927.
Construction cost £644,600 with another £250,000 spent on the internal fit-out.16 The building was
opened on 9 May 1927 by King George V’s son, His Royal Highness The Duke of York (later King
George VI) and his wife the Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother). The Duke
of York also unveiled the statue to his father, King George V, which is located in Kings Hall inside
Old Parliament House on the same day. The Duke later crowned King George VI, after his brother
Edward VIII abdicated, was Australia’s Monarch when the memorial was proposed in 1936 to
commemorate his father’s reign.
The statue commemorates King George V, Monarch at the time of the opening of the Provisional
Parliament House, which was a major formative period in the development of Canberra. The King
George V Memorial is a substantial Canberra example of a place which tangibly reflects the
importance of the Australian Head of State within the Australian system of government. In 1901
King George V, then t the Duke of York opened the first session of the Australian Parliament upon
the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia in Melbourne.
Designed in the interwar Art Deco Stripped Classical style, the building is a crucial element in
Griffin’s planned landscape of the National Triangle and the land axis between Mount Ainslie and
Capital Hill.
In front of Old Parliament House between 1925 and 1927, the gently north sloping site was divided
into three major sections separated by gravel pathways. The pathways were bordered by trees
encircling the site and the northern flanking spaces were left as open grassed terraces.17 Circular
15
16
17
22
Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008-2013 by Old Parliament House Alive
for the National Capital Authority, p 8.
Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008-2013 by Old Parliament House Alive
for the National Capital Authority, p 8
Parkes Place and the National Rose Garden Heritage Management Plan Volume 1, by Duncan Marshall,
Geoff Butler, Context Pty Ltd, Dr Dianne Firth and Maureen Ross, for the National Capital Authority, 2011,
p 32.
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rose gardens were designed on either side of the central terrace, which were completed in 1934
(Figure 3.25).18
Old Parliament House has undergone many large and small changes over its life in the central
areas and to the wings. Essentially, however, the front facade remains unchanged. Old Parliament
House continued to operate as the temporary base for the Commonwealth Parliament until the
opening of New Parliament House on Capital Hill in 1988.
3.3 King George V Memorial
3.3.1 Background
In 1936, just eight years after the opening of the Provisional Old Parliament House (now known as
Old Parliament House), the Commonwealth Government approved a memorial to the recently
deceased King George V. George V had an important association with Australia; besides being
king from 1910 to 1936, a reign that spanned World War I, he also, opened the first Commonwealth
Parliament in Melbourne on 9 May 1901, following Federation. 19 An earlier statue of the King had
been unveiled at the opening of Old Parliament House in 1927 and is still in its original location in
the Kings Hall (Figure 3.1).
King George V, second son of Edward VII and grandfather to Queen Elizabeth II, was highly
regarded by his Australian political subjects, especially for his actions and leadership during World
War 1 and his participation in Australia’s Federation.
The memorial was commissioned in 1935 by the Commonwealth Government but construction was
delayed because of World War II, and for many years it stood without its bronze statue of King
George V. The memorial was finally completed in 1952.
3.3.2 Design and Construction
Discussions regarding an appropriate way to commemorate the recently deceased King prompted
the Federal Government to appoint a cabinet sub-committee to assess the matter. The
subcommittee prepared the following recommendations which were tabled in Parliament in March
1936:
18
19
1.
That the memory of the late King be perpetuated in Canberra by a group of symbolic statuary in
bronze.
2.
That the site be on the vacant square immediately in front of Parliament House.
3.
That the statuary should be of such a nature as to be symbolic (of):
a.
The association of the King with the birth and first 25 years (sic) of Federation.
b.
The growth of the idea of Empire unity as a Commonwealth of National owing allegiance to
one sovereign.
Parkes Place and the National Rose Garden Heritage Management Plan Volume 1, by Duncan Marshall,
Geoff Butler, Context Pty Ltd, Dr Dianne Firth and Maureen Ross, for the National Capital Authority, 2011,
p 34.
Australian Town and Country Journal, 18 May, 1901, p 3.
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c.
By means of plaques or bas-reliefs associated with the statuary commemorating the main
events of Australia’s national life, such as, for instance, the first Federal Convention; the King
as Duke of York opening the first Federal Parliament; Australian participation in the Great
War; the Duke of York opening the first Parliament at Canberra.
4.
That there should not be a competition for designs, but that three or four of the best artists or
sculptors within the Empire be invited to submit designs, and that fees should be paid for such
designs. An Australian artist should be included in the list.
5.
That on receipt of such designs the Government with the assistance of a technical Committee of
Advice choose the design to be adopted.
6.
That the statuary be known as ‘The King George the Fifth Memorial’. 20
Three sculptors working in Australia were chosen from a large number who approached the subcommittee for the privilege. The final brief specified:
The main feature of the Memorial will be a statue or group of statuary in bronze, the prominent
subject to be statue of King George V in State robes and without headdress standing on a pedestal,
with inlaid bas-relief bronze panels on each face or as otherwise suggested by the sculptor.21
The budget was limited to £20,000 for the entire memorial which was to include the base structure
and statues and it was specified that granite should be used for the main pedestal and fundamental
design aspects whilst hard stone could be used for the steps substructure and other architectural
features.22
The three sculptors invited to submit plans for the memorial included William Leslie Bowles, Paul
Raphael Montford and George Rayner Hoff. All three were working in Australia at the time, Bowles
and Montford in Melbourne and Hoff in Sydney (Figures 3.12–3.16). The initial designs submitted
by each sculptor were considered insufficient by the Technical Committee of Advisers and more
detailed plans had to be submitted before a decision was made.23 Hoff had considerable
experience in designing large scale sculpture for various public memorials. For example, he
created figures for the National War Memorial, Adelaide and numerous sculptures for the Anzac
Memorial in Sydney. He submitted three separate designs for Canberra’s proposed King George V
Memorial. One of Hoff’s designs, an Art Deco styled collaboration between Hoff and Associate
Architect, Harry Foskett, was partially accepted by the Committee in March 1937 pending further
discussion on some design details. The design was officially accepted by the Federal Cabinet in
August 1937 but the final plans and contract were never signed because Hoff died suddenly from
pancreatitis in November 1937.24
20
21
22
23
24
24
AA:CRS A461/1; O.370/1/8; folio x cited in King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT,
Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra,
January 1994, pp 3–4
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 4.
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 5.
Advocate Burnie Tasmania 4 March 1937, p 7.
Noel S Hutchison, 'Hoff, George Rayner (1894–1937)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre
of Biography, Australian National University, <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hoff-george-rayner6696/text11553>, accessed 1 April 2013.
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Hoff had chosen a successor, John Moorfield, a fellow teacher at East Sydney Technical College,
who continued his work after his death. Moorfield worked in conjunction with Harry Foskett who
remained the associate architect for the project. 25 Brief biographies of Hoff, Moorfield and Foskett
are outlined in section 3.6 of this report.
The site for the memorial specified by the cabinet sub-committee ‘on the vacant square immediately
in front of Parliament House’, was allegedly chosen to conform with Walter Burley Griffin’s plan of
Canberra standing on the main land axis of Griffin’s plan. 26 The immense scale of the ‘vacant
square’ and its surrounding open space posed a challenge to the designers, requiring them to
provide a monumental design response. Apparently Hoff and Foskett had both not been happy with
the location and preferred a flanking site.27
Their design proposed a tall central pylon with flanking statuary to take advantage of the
magnificent background of Mount Ainslie. It included a large granite and sandstone podium with an
approach ramp from the south and a flight of steps from the north. 28 A 4.5 metre bronze statue of
King George V on a stone plinth would face Parliament House while a stone carved sculpture of St
George seated on a horse, also on a stone plinth, would face Mount Ainslie. It is understood that
King George V was symbolically associated with Saint George because of his role in successfully
leading his country in World War I.
As specified in the brief presented by the cabinet sub-committee, the memorial needed to contain
symbolic plaques commemorating main events of Australia’s national life. The designers planned
nine circular bronze portraits depicting the army, navy and air force during the Great War of 191418. They also designed bronze plaques of the Duke of York (now King George V) and Duchess of
York who opened the first Federal Parliament in Melbourne in 1901. Plaques commemorating Sir
Edmund Barton, as the first Australian Prime Minister and Sir Henry Parkes, New South Wales
Premier and Sir Samuel W Griffith, Queensland Premier in 1891, for their position’s as President
and Vice-President respectively at the first Federal Convention held in Sydney in 1981. The
Convention, also known as the 1891 National Australasian Convention, was the first step in drafting
the Australian Constitution.29 When completed the memorial would stand 7.5 metres tall.
Moorfield designed the plaques and was responsible for the modelling of the plaques, the King
George figure and the Saint George figure. The bronzes were cast by the Morris-Singer Company
of London and Saint George was carved by the stonemasons Garnett and Sons of Sydney. 30
25
26
27
28
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 5.
<http://www.heritage.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahpi/record.pl?CHL105352>
Foskett, who was consulted about the memorial’s relocation in the 1960s, is reported to have said at the
time that neither he nor Hoff were happy with the original siting and had indicated a preference for a
flanking site to the responsible committee. Cited in King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes
ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra,
January 1994, p 7.
<http://www.heritage.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahpi/record.pl?CHL105352>
29
<http://www.ccentre.wa.gov.au/ExhibitionsOnline/ANationAtLast/Pages/The1891NationalAustraliaA
ustraliasianConvention.aspx>
30
<http://www.heritage.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahpi/record.pl?CHL105352>
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Although the bulk of the structure was completed by 1941, the onset of World War II delayed the
casting of the bronze plaques and the bronze figure of King George V as they were being made in
London. As a result, the monument was in place but only half completed with the blank side facing
Old Parliament House for more than a decade.31 Additionally, by 1941 the stone figure of Saint
George was facing the newly constructed Australian War Memorial (Figure 3.25).
Finally in 1951 a model for the bronze figure of George V was sent to England for casting. By this
time repairs were already being made to the foundations of the memorial because of subsidence.
The memorial was finally unveiled on 4 March 1953 amidst a well-attended ceremony which saw
the Governor General, Sir William McKell, unveil the King George statue from under an Australian
flag and in the presence of Hoff’s widow, Moorfield’s daughter (Moorfield had died in 1945 having
not lived to see the completed monument) and other dignitaries such as the Prime Minister, Robert
Menzies, Minister for the Interior, Sir Philip McBride; and the Leader for the Opposition, Dr H V
Evatt. King George V’s strong association with the navy was represented on the day with a guard
of honour supplied by the Royal Australian Navy (Figure 3.27). 32
The statue became a landmark for early Canberrans and gained social importance as a meeting
point not just for visitors who invariably had their photo taken in front of the memorial, but also as a
focal point for political protests (Figure 3.28). It was also the location for celebratory activities such
as Carols by Candlelight.
3.4 Major Changes to Parliament House Vista
3.4.1 The NCDC Period
The development of Canberra over the years has been the responsibility of a succession of
government agencies following Griffin. This included the Federal Capital Advisory Committee
(FCAC) 1921–24 and Federal Capital Commission (FCC) 1925–30 which achieved initial
development; the NCDC which was responsible for the major development from the 1960s to the
1980s; and currently the NCA.
Among the major achievements of the NCDC was the appointment of William Holford, a British
planner associated with the University College, London. One outcome of his appointment was the
realisation of Lake Burley Griffin.
After construction of Old Parliament House and the King George V Memorial, the first permanent
building constructed in the Parliamentary Zone was the Administrative Building (now John Gorton
Building) which opened in 1956 on the eastern side of Old Parliament House nearer the Molonglo
River. Major earth works were undertaken in the early 1960s which included the removal of Cork
Hill, a small hill between the Parliament House and Molonglo River which was impeding the view.33
The completion of the lake in 1964 was a major achievement which changed the central area. The
landscaped setting for the National Library of Australia was completed in 1968 as were the central
pools and fountains in each of the outside pools on the land axis and opposite the Treasury
31
32
33
26
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 5.
The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926–1995), Tuesday 3 March 1953, p 1.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 89.
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Building. The works for these water bodies were implemented in the 1930s, yet the final completed
form was not realised until 1969. All were fitted with ornamental fountains in the form of water
jets.34
Later development within the Parliamentary Zone included the High Court of Australia (1980), the
National Gallery of Australia (1982), Reconciliation Place Federation Mall (2001), Commonwealth
Place (2002) on the lake edge and land axis, and most recently the National Portrait Gallery (2008).
3.4.2 Relocation of the Memorial
While the site for the memorial was said to have been chosen to accord with Griffin’s plans, by the
late 1940s and early 1950s influential politicians and visitors to Canberra alike had already begun to
doubt its prominent location (Figure 3.29). The memorial’s monumental Art Deco style was now out
of fashion and the construction of the new Australian War Memorial had altered the significance of
the Land Axis vista. Also the fact that it had remained incomplete for over a decade influenced the
growing feeling that the memorial constituted a dominating and intrusive element into the vista.35
The concern about the memorial’s location heightened in the 1960s following the construction of
Lake Burley Griffin (1964) and then Anzac Parade (1965) as the memorial now impeded a highly
significant view (Figure 3.26).
Discussions about the memorial’s relocation had been mooted in Parliament as early as 1943, and
in 1949, the National Capital Planning & Development Committee (a precursor to the NCDC)
resolved to recommend to the Minister that ‘…in view of the repairs that are urgently required to be
made to the King George V Memorial, it be removed to a more appropriate site’. No response was
given to the committee.36 In 1965, repairs to the value of $11,000 were tendered by the Works
Department, but not proceeded with.37
The decision was finally made in 1968 to relocate the memorial to its current location west of the
land axis, on a corner of the western part of the National Rose Garden. The relocation was a part of
the first serious planning and development of the central land axis and Parkes Place. 38 The
planning and works program were encouraged by Lord Holford, an English town planning
consultant who proposed a large scale redevelopment of Parkes Place for the NCDC in 1965. His
plans were dependent on the removal of the memorial from the central axis to its current location
and allowed for an appropriate monument to be built in the corresponding eastern location in the
future. The full scale of Holford’s design was not carried out by the NCDC but the relocation of the
memorial was a major part of the Parkes Place redevelopment.39 The decision to relocate allowed
34
35
36
37
38
39
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 94.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 64.
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 2.
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 2.
Parliament House Vista Area Heritage Management Plan, Volume 1 by CAB Consulting Pty Ltd, Context
Pty Ltd, University of NSW and Alison Rowell for the National Capital Authority, 2010, p 61.
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, pp 8–9.
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the much needed repairs to the stonework to be made and provided an unrestricted view from Old
Parliament House along the central axis to the Australian War Memorial and Mount Ainslie.
In his book, Canberra 1954–1980, Eric Sparke gives credit for moving the monument to Doug
Anthony (at that time Minister for the Interior and later Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the
Old Parliament House’s Advisory Council). According to Sparke, Doug Anthony had to obtain the
acquiescence of the Prime Minister, no easy task in view of Prime Minster (at the time) Robert
Menzies being a strong royalist supporter. Anthony is said to have stated:
I raised the ticklish issue with him one afternoon after there had been a good question time in
Parliament. Menzies stood silent for a while, looking out of the window then he said ‘I suppose you
are right’.’40
In 2010 the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House recorded an oral history
interview with Doug Anthony in which he describes the process of moving the memorial.41
When reconstructed in the new location, the memorial was reorientated with King George V statue
facing east, instead of the original south position (facing Old Parliament House directly). The three
metre high podium and ramp was not rebuilt, and in its place a 1.5 metre wide platform with two
steps was constructed made of granite on reinforced concrete. The memorial was placed within a
granite paved area between two poplar trees. Access to the interior of the memorial was changed
to a hatch in the concrete slab roof. A new brick pylon was constructed to which the original stone
cladding was attached (Figure 3.30). Polysulphide mastic pointing was used for the
reconstruction.42
The King George V Memorial was one of the earliest structures built in the Parliamentary Zone and,
although moved, remains within this zone. It retains a close proximity and a visual and historical
connection with Old Parliament House.
3.4.3 Ongoing Repairs and Location Discussions
Repairs had already been made to the foundations of the memorial in 1949 because of subsidence,
and in the 1960s the need for significant repairs to the stonework was repeatedly raised. The
relocation and reconstruction of the memorial rectified many of the needed repairs but the decision
to remove elements of the statute and to relocate the memorial did not please everybody and the
idea of again relocating the memorial was muted by some, including a report by the (then)
Department of Housing and Construction to the NCDC. 43
In 1982 graffiti and lichen were removed from the memorial and the joints were partially repointed.
Further significant remedial works were undertaken from 1996 following the recommendations of
40
41
42
43
28
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House—The King George V Memorial.
Rt Hon Doug Anthony AC, CH, interviewed by Michael Richards, 15 March 2010, for the Old Parliament
House Political and Parliamentary Oral History Project, ORAL TRC 6100/19.
<http://www.heritage.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahpi/record.pl?CHL105352>
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 10
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
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the 1994 Conservation Study.44 As also outlined in Section 3.7 below and Volume 2 of this HMP, a
summary of works that have been undertaken since 1996 include:

Repointing of all ‘real’ joints in sandstone with a 1:3 lime: sand mortar mix. Failure of the
pointing was noted in the NCA files one year after completion in 1997. David West of ARUP
Façade Engineering was contracted to identify the defects, investigate the causes and
propose methods of rectification.

Replacement of coping stones (rather than the recommended consolidation trials) and
installation of new copper flashing at the top of the pylon.

Fills to damaged areas of sandstone with epoxy-bound sand patches on stainless steel wire
armatures. These appear to have been problematic from installation. They are described in
1997 correspondence as having a distinctly green cast and a limited life expectancy
(approximately 10 years).

Dressing back and reshaping of badly damaged stone to sound material. In some instances
dressing of stones was used to create water shedding surfaces.

Wax application to the surface of all bronze elements.

Construction of new internal access, hatches and drainage.

Installation of lighting and a ventilation fan.

Removal and replanting of the nearby poplar trees, in part to address damage to the graniteclad platform and paving of the memorial caused by root growth.

Introduction of a root barrier at the time of replanting (shown in Freeman Collett & Partners
architectural drawing of May 1994).

Application of a sacrificial plaster to the interior brickwork to a height of about 2m.

Application of an anti-graffiti coating (extent and material unknown).

Possible stone consolidation to cracks in unknown locations.

Some replacement of granite stones in the paving and platform (locations unknown).
In 1988, prior to the heritage listing of Parliament House Vista, the National Trust of Australia (ACT)
provided the NCDC with advice that to relocate the memorial back to the original site (with a
reinstated plinth) and to its original form on the land axis, would not be consistent with the trust’s
active role in trying to ‘preserve’ the vista between Old Parliament House and the Australian War
Memorial.45 They suggested that to retain the vista as an open area on the mall would in turn allow
44
45
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, p 2.
NCA file 83/1878, Correspondence between the NCDC (the Secretary Manager) and the National Trust of
Australia (ACT) (the Administrator), 5 April 1988.
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the memorial in its current site to be ‘preserved’—and they went as far to say that the current site of
the memorial was consistent with Hoff’s preferred location ‘flanking’ the land axis. 46
In its current location the memorial retains a historical and visual connection with Old Parliament
House and has an extended setting which is the Parliament House Vista and the National Triangle.
3.5 The Aboriginal Tent Embassy Site
Four years after the King George V Memorial was moved, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was
established on part of the memorial’s former site in front of Old Parliament House. The Aboriginal
Tent Embassy was established as a protest site on 26 January 1972 with only a beach umbrella,
some placards and four protestors. The site has subsequently become a national symbol of
Aboriginal struggle for land rights. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established as a reaction to
the McMahon government’s statements about Aboriginal land rights47 and has been removed and
re-established a number of times. It has been a permanent fixture on the landscape in front of Old
Parliament House since 1992.
In 1993 the ashes of Aboriginal activist, poet and artist Kevin Gilbert were incorporated into a fire
between the King George V Memorial and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy office building. The fire
was known at the time as the ‘fire of justice’ and is relit periodically. It was recently relit on the
twentieth anniversary of the death of Kevin Gilbert on 1 April 2013. 48 The location of this fire is
considered to be important by the Aboriginal community associated with the Aboriginal Tent
Embassy and the Gilbert family.
The central fire pit, which includes a large sign ‘Sovereignty’, lies on the site left vacant by the King
George V Memorial. This fire pit is now used as the central meeting point for memorial and protest
gatherings (Figures 3.31–3.33).49
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy continues to share the landscape area in front of Old Parliament
House with the King George V Memorial which in its new location is to the west of the central land
axis on King George V Terrace. Both the memorial and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy are referred
to in the Parliament House Vista Commonwealth Heritage citation as significant attributes and
components of the conservation area of the vista.
3.6 The Artists
3.6.1 George Rayner Hoff 50
George Rayner Hoff (1894–1937), sculptor and teacher, was born on 27 November 1894 at
Braddan, Isle of Man. Early training from his father, who restored ancient buildings, saw him
46
47
48
49
50
30
NCA file 83/1878, Correspondence between the NCDC (the Secretary Manager) and the National Trust of
Australia (ACT) (the Administrator), 5 April 1988.
ACT Heritage Register Online (HeRO) data file 20130403, provided by ACT Heritage, 2 April 2013.
Ellie Gilbert, pers comm, 3 April 2013.
<http://www.aboriginaltentembassy.net/> Accessed 2 April 2013.
Excerpts taken from Noel S Hutchison, 'Hoff, George Rayner (1894–1937)', Australian Dictionary of
Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,
<http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hoff-george-rayner-6696/text11553> accessed 5 April 2013.
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
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develop as a capable woodcarver and stonemason. After finishing school Rayner worked in a
mason's yard and entered an architect's office at age 14.
In 1919 Hoff had begun studies at the Royal College of Art, London, under the Professor of
Sculpture, Francis Derwent Wood, RA. After meeting the Australian architect Hardy Wilson in the
Italian city of Naples, and discussions with Derwent Wood in London, he accepted an appointment
as Teacher in Charge of Drawing, Modelling and Sculpture at East Sydney Technical College in
May 1923. He reached Sydney in August and during his years at the East Sydney Technical
College he met Moorfield and Foskett who would later assist him with the design of the King George
V Memorial.
His friendship with Norman Lindsay and Hardy Wilson among others influenced the many ideas
underlying his stylistically diverse and eclectic work. He was exposed to, and inspired by a variety of
art forms such as Graeco-Roman, European Renaissance and Art Deco as evident in the design of
King George V Memorial.51
The medal for the Society of Artists was created by Hoff in 1924. Later he produced, among others,
the Sir Peter Nicol Russell memorial medal for the Institution of Engineers, Australia (1927), the Sir
John Sulman medal for the Institute of Architects of New South Wales (1932) and the contentious
Victorian Centenary Medallion (1934).
Hoff's last years took a tragic turn. He was embroiled in controversy with the Catholic Archbishop
Kelly, the Master Builders' Association of New South Wales and the local chapter of the Royal
Australian Institute of Architects over the morality of the form and symbolism of the Anzac Memorial
Group 'Sacrifice', 'Crucifixion of Civilisation' and 'Victory' in 1932 (Figure 2.13).
Rayner Hoff stands as the outstanding public sculptor in Sydney between the wars. Given the
demands of his administrative and educational duties, his contribution to Australian art was
considerable.
The most significant visible contribution that Hoff made was his large-scale sculpture for various
buildings and public memorials. In 1925 he produced the large reliefs of the war memorial at
Dubbo, NSW; the figures for the National War Memorial, Adelaide, in 1927–31; and the more
numerous and controversial sculptures for the Anzac Memorial, Sydney (made with the aid of
students and assistants) in 1930–34 (Figure 3.13). After winning the competition he had begun
work on the King George V Memorial, Canberra, in 1936, which was completed posthumously by
John Moorfield and Architect Harry Foskett.
3.6.2 Moorfield and Foskett
East Sydney Technical College was opened in 1922 as the annex to the Sydney Technical College,
employing influential English Sculptor G Rayner Hoff to run the art department in 1923. The
department gained a new impetus through his leadership, and in 1926 Hoff helped to establish a
five year diploma course. One of Hoff’s colleagues at the East Sydney Technical College was John
Edward Moorfield who was employed as Instructor in Modelling. Hoff had suggested that in the
51
'Hoff, George Rayner (1894–1937)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography,
Australian National University, <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hoff-george-rayner-6696/text11553>
accessed 27 May 2013.
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
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event of his death, Moorfield should be retained as the sculptor. 52 While Moorfield designed the
plaques for the King George V Memorial and was responsible for the modelling of the plaques, the
King George figure and the Saint George figure, no further works by him are known. He died in
1945 prior to the opening of the memorial in 1953.
Harry Foskett was also connected with the East Sydney Technical College having completed his
studies in architecture there in 1930. He then travelled to England to continue his studies at the
University College, London, before returning to Sydney where by 1937 he was running the
architecture course at East Sydney Technical College with Miles Dunphy. 53 In his later years he
was working as an architect in Canberra and was Principal Architect for Red Hill Primary School,
which was designed in 1959 and constructed in 1960 to serve the needs of the growing population
in Canberra's inner south.54
3.7 Summary Chronology55
Date
Event
1936
Death of King George V.
1936
Cabinet agrees to commemorate King George V by a group of symbolic statuary to be
sited on the square immediately in front of Parliament House at a total cost of £20,000.
1937
Design of G Rayner Hoff (in association with H Foskett, Architect) accepted.
1937
G R Hoff dies.
1938
Hoff’s nominee, J E Moorfield, engaged to complete the memorial to Hoff’s design.
1940
Site works commenced. Contractors: Concrete Constructions (Canberra) Pty Ltd.
1941
Structure completed, but without the bronze figure and plaques due to World War II.
1943
Comment in parliament that the memorial would have to be shifted to another site.
1945
J E Moorfield dies.
1949
National Capital Planning & Development Committee resolved to recommend to the
Minister that ‘…in view of the repairs that are urgently required to be made to the King
George V Memorial, it be removed to a more appropriate site’. No response was given to
the committee.
1951
Repairs to foundations as a result of subsidence.
1951
Model sent to England for casting.
1953
Ceremony of unveiling.
1962
Works Department identify need for substantial repairs to stonework.
1965
Repairs ($11,000) tendered by Works Department, but not proceeded with.
1960s
Doug Anthony and Sir Robert Menzies discuss the relocation of the memorial.
1965
Relocation mooted by Lord Holford/NCDC.
1968
Relocated to present site (with omission of substantial podium) at a cost of $54,000 as
part of Parkes Place improvement. Contractors: Sabemo Pty Ltd.
52
53
54
55
32
The Canberra Times, 29 June 1938, p 2.
<http://www.candalepas.com.au/index.php/col-madigan-obituary-sep2011>
<http://www.architecture.com.au/awards_search?option=showaward&entryno=2011018099>
King George V Memorial, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, Conservation Study Volume 1 by Freeman
Collett & Partners Pty Ltd Architects & Planners Canberra, January 1994, pp 2–3.
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
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Date
Event
1982
Graffiti removal. Subsequent partial repointing of joints and removal of lichen.
1983
Relocation considered by NCDC as part of review of the Parliamentary Zone.
1984
Department of Housing and Construction report for NCDC on condition of memorial.
1988
Report by H Hensel for DASETT on condition of memorial.
1988
National Trust of Australia (ACT) provided the NCDC with advice that to relocate the
memorial back to the original site would not be consistent with the trust’s active role in
trying to ‘preserve’ the vista between Old Parliament House and the Australian War
Memorial.
1991
ACT Urban Services commission University of Canberra to undertake ‘research directed
to the conservation and stabilisation of the King George V Memorial’.
1992
University of Canberra Preliminary report on the conservation of the KGV Memorial.
1993
National Capital Planning Authority (NCPA) calls for registrations of interest in ‘remedial
works and conservation’.
1994
1994 Conservation Study (3 volumes prepared for the NCPA).
Significant remedial works commenced, following the recommendations of the
Conservation Study.
1995
1927 poplars removed (October 1995), root barrier installed and new replacement poplars
planted.
1996
Program of ‘remedial works and conservation’ implemented by the NCPA.
Subterranean/underground access constructed, internal infrastructure such as galvanised
steel platforms and ladders installed to gain access to the top of the pylon and the former
roof access. New copper roof added.
Post 1996
Works have been carried out sporadically and as needed from 1996 onwards. A summary
of works undertaken post 1996 include:

Repointing of all ‘real’ joints in sandstone with a 1:3 lime: sand mortar mix.
Failure of the pointing was noted in the NCA files one year after completion in
1997. David West of ARUP Façade Engineering was contracted to identify the
defects, investigate the causes and propose methods of rectification.

Replacement of coping stones (rather than the recommended consolidation
trials) and installation of new copper flashing at the top of the pylon.

Fills to damaged areas of sandstone with epoxy-bound sand patches on
stainless steel wire armatures. These appear to have been problematic from
installation. They are described in 1997 correspondence as having a distinctly
green cast and a limited life expectancy (approximately 10 years).

Dressing back and reshaping of badly damaged stone to sound material. In
some instances dressing of stones was used to create water shedding surfaces.

Wax application to the surface of all bronze elements.

Construction of new internal access, hatches and drainage.

Installation of lighting and a ventilation fan.

Removal and replanting of the nearby poplar trees, in part to address damage
to the granite-clad platform and paving of the memorial caused by root growth.

Introduction of a root barrier at the time of replanting (shown in Freeman Collett
& Partners architectural drawing of May 1994).

Application of a sacrificial plaster to the interior brickwork to a height of about
2m.

Application of an anti-graffiti coating (extent and material unknown).

Possible stone consolidation to cracks in unknown locations.

Some replacement of granite stones in the paving and platform (locations
unknown).
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
33
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3.8 Comparative Analysis
3.8.1 King George V Memorials within Australia
The King George V Memorial Canberra is one of eight known statues of George V constructed
throughout Australia following the death of the much loved monarch in 1936. A detailed analysis of
these memorials appears in Table 3.1. Additionally, other memorials in honour of King George V
within Australia include Memorial Gardens in Gloucester NSW; near Putney in Sydney; and the
King George V Memorial Hospital which opened in 1941 (closed 2002) in Camperdown Sydney as
a hospital exclusively for mothers. George V Memorial Gates are located in King George V Park,
Glen Innes NSW and in Innisfail, Queensland. Other known memorials include windows, obelisks,
tablets and a bust.
There are also numerous statues and memorials to two earlier monarchs: King Edward II and
Queen Victoria. Statues of Queen Victoria are in Queens Square and in front of the Queen Victoria
Building Sydney, Victoria Square Adelaide, Queens Gardens Bendigo, Eastern Gardens Geelong,
Queen Victoria Gardens Melbourne, Kings Park West Perth, Queens Park Brisbane and Sturt
Street, Ballarat. There is also a statue to Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert in Queens Square
Sydney. The Equestrian Statue of King Edward II stands in Macquarie Street, Sydney, outside the
Conservatorium. There are also statues of King Edward II on North Terrace, Adelaide; in the
Queen Victoria Gardens, Melbourne; and in Macquarie Street, Hobart. 56
56
34
A list of the imperial monuments of Australia is provided by Monument Australia
<http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/government/imperial>
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Table 3.1 Comparative Analysis with other King George V Memorials in Australia
Kings Hall Old Parliament House Canberra
Heritage Listing
History
NHL (as part of ‘Old Parliament
House’ Place ID: 105774)
Unveiled: 1927
Sculptor: Sir Bertram Mackennal (1863–1931)
Location: Kings Hall, Old Parliament House
The bronze statue of King George V was placed in the Kings Hall on
its opening in 1927. It is mounted on a Canberra marble pedestal
base and located in a prominent position towards the rear of the hall.
The statue mirrors the statue of Queen Victoria in the Queen’s Hall,
Parliament House, Melbourne. It is the second casting of the statue
originally commissioned for New Deli and shows the king in full robes
of the Order of the Garter
Mackennal was an Australian sculptor most famous for designing the
coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of King George V for the
British Government. In 1886 he won a competition for the sculptured
reliefs on the front of Parliament House, Melbourne, and designed the
medals for the 1908 London Olympic Games and the Coronation
Medal for King George V.
Figure 3.1 King George V, Kings
Hall, Old Parliament House.
(Source: National Archives of
Australia)
His Australian works included the memorial statue of King Edward VII
in Melbourne and the figures of the soldier and the sailor for the
cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney. Mackennal was the first Australian
artist to be knighted, made Knight Commander of the Victorian Order
in 1921.
Summary: This is the only known internal statue of King George V. It was designed by one of Australia’s
most renowned sculptors who had already designed the portrait of King George V for the British coinage and
postage stamps. As with the statue in front of Old Parliament House and in Ballarat, it depicts King George V
in his full robes of the Order of the Garter with his head uncovered. It was cast in bronze as were all of the
Australian statues of King George V but the location for this casting is unknown.
King George Square, Brisbane
Heritage Listing
History
Brisbane City Council Heritage Register (as part of
King George Square)
Unveiled: 1938
Sculptor: Unknown
Location: King George Square
The first statue of King George V to be unveiled in a
capital city in Australia. It was funded by the citizens
of Brisbane. The memorial included the bronze
Equestrian Statue and two brass lions. It was
unveiled to a crowd of 10,000 people.
The square in which it stands was renamed King
George Square following construction of statue.
Figure 3.2 King George V, Brisbane. (Source:
Memorial Australia)
Summary: This early statue of King George V built before the start of World War II is one of only two known
equestrian sculptures of the King in Australia, the other being in Adelaide. As with all other statues of King
George V, it is made of bronze and stands on a stone podium.
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
35
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Alexander Square Ballarat
Heritage Listing
History
No Heritage Listing
Unveiled: 21 May 1938
Sculptor: Victor Greenhalgh (1900–1983)
Location: Alexander Square, Sturt Street, Ballarat
This bronze memorial to King George V was constructed in 1938 by
talented sculptor Victor Greenhalgh to commemorate the King’s Silver
Jubilee of 25 years on the throne. The monument designed in the Art
Deco style is set on a granite backdrop and features a stunning long
bluestone base.
This monument was made in Australia by Victor E Greenhalgh, a
Ballarat born man, whose commissioned works include six busts of
Australian prime ministers which were placed in the Ballarat Public
Gardens. This, his largest sculpture, shows the royal crest of the lion
and the unicorn with inscriptions in Latin, 'DIEU ET MON DROIT'
('God and my right').
Figure 3.3 King George
Memorial Ballarat. (Source:
State Library Victoria)
George V is shown holding the orb and sceptre and is dressed in the
ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter signified by the garter
worn on his left leg below the knee.
Summary
One of three memorials to King George V in the Art Deco style, others being the memorial in front of Old
Parliament House, Canberra, and the memorial in Melbourne. It is also one of three that depict the King in
the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter with his head uncovered, others being the statue in the Kings
Hall, Old Parliament House, and in front of Old Parliament House. It was made in Australia by a local sculptor
as (it would appear) were half of the King George V statues. As with all of the statues, it was made of bronze
with a granite backdrop.
Kings Domain, Melbourne
Heritage Listings
History
Melbourne City Council Heritage Database
Unveiled: 1952
Sculptor: William Leslie Bowles (1885–1954)
Stonemason: G B Edwards & Sons
Location: Kings Domain, Melbourne
Designed and built by W L Bowles, one of the three
architects who submitted designs for King George V
Memorial Canberra.Invitations to submit designs for
this statue were sent to 10 artists and sculptors
including Hoff and Montford. Made of bronze
sandstone and granite, sculptured on a bluestone
base. It was also designed in the late 30s, delayed
by WWII and was unveiled in 1952. Funding came
by public subscription and from the council.
Figure 3.4 King George V Memorial, Melbourne.
(Source: State Library Victoria & Monument Australia)
36
Bowles worked in (Sir) E Bertram Mackennal’s
London studio for a number of years where work
was concentrated mainly on large public
monuments, such as the London Memorial and
Tomb for King Edward VII, and equestrian statues of
Edward VII for Melbourne, London and Calcutta. It
is not surprising that Bowles' later independent work
reflects that of Mackennal, and almost never stems
directly from other contemporaries.
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Kings Domain, Melbourne
Summary
The King George V Memorial in Melbourne, like the King George V Memorial in Canberra, was designed as a
result of a competition and completed after World War II. Included in the invitations to submit a design were
the same three sculptors asked to submit designs for the Canberra Memorial—Bowles, Hoff and Montford. It
is one of three George V memorials in the Art Deco style which includes the memorial outside Old Parliament
House and the Ballarat Memorial. It depicts the King in royal robes wearing a crown (as does the Geelong
memorial). It was most likely cast in London which is why there was a delay in its construction. As with all
the King George V statues, it is made of bronze
Johnston Park Geelong
Heritage Listing
History
Greater Geelong City Council Heritage Database
Unveiled: October 1938
Sculptor: Wallace Anderson (1888–1975)
Built: Naples, Italy
Location: In front of Geelong Art Gallery
This bronze statue of King George V stands on a
granite base in front of the Geelong Art Gallery facing
Johnstone Park. It was unveiled by the Governor of
Victoria on 26 October 1938. The bronze figure was
cast in 1937 at the Fonderie Chivrazzi in Naples,
Italy, to a design by Australian born sculptor Wallace
Anderson.
Figure 3.5 King George V Memorial Geelong.
(Source: State Library Victoria & Monument
Australia)
In April 1918 Anderson was appointed Museums
Officer and Sculptor to the AIF and was based in the
Australian War Records Section, London, with
sculptors William Bowles and Web Gilbert. In 1920
he returned to Melbourne and continued his job with
the Australian War Museum producing models,
dioramas and sculpture in an annex of the Exhibition
Building. Moving to Canberra, he worked for the
Australian War Memorial in 1944–46. Anderson had
produced a number of bronze war memorials and
memorial portraits for Melbourne and for Victorian
country towns. One of the earliest was 'Spirit of
Anzac' (1928), situated in Johnstone Park, Geelong.
His most famous work is that of Simpson and his
donkey (1935), which he completed after winning a
competition conducted by the Victorian Division of
the Australian Red Cross. This figure was also cast
by the Chiurazzi Foundry, Naples, Italy (Figure 3.6).
In 1937 Anderson completed a life-sized, bronze
statue of King George V for Geelong. Between 1939
and 1945 he executed a series of nine busts of
Australian prime ministers for the Botanic Gardens,
Ballarat. One of his last public works, a figure of a
soldier in bronze, completed about 1950, stands as
the war memorial outside the Box Hill Town Hall.
Summary: This statue depicts the King in his royal robes (as does the Melbourne statue) and may reflect the
association of both sculptors who worked together in London. It is the only one of the eight statues that was
cast in Italy where Anderson also cast his famous sculpture of Simpson and his donkey. It arrived in Australia
prior to the commencement of World War II, thus avoiding a delayed date of completion. As with all the other
statues it is made in bronze
King George V Memorial—Heritage Management Plan (May 2014)
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Angas Gardens, Adelaide
Heritage Listing
History
South Australia Local Heritage Council
Unveiled: 1950
Sculptor: Maurice Lambert (1901–1964)
Location: Angas Gardens, Adelaide
Equestrian statue of King George V made of bronze
and shipped from England to Adelaide stands on a
12ft high pedestal of Waikerie freestone and granite.
Commissioned in 1939, it was not completed until
after World War II. It was funded by public
subscription and the South Australian government.
The eldest son of the distinguished Australian painter
George Lambert, Maurice, was born in Paris on 25
June 1901. He studied under Francis Derwent Wood
RA at the Royal College of Art, London, from 1918 to
1923 (at the same time as GR Hoff), and then
worked as Wood's assistant from 1924 to 1925.
He held his first solo exhibition at the Claridge
Gallery in London in 1927. He was elected a Royal
Academician in 1952, whilst he was Master of
Sculpture at the Royal Academy School from 1950 to
1958. He never lived in Australia and died in London
on 17 August 1964.
Figure 3.6 Equestrian figure of King George V in
Adelaide. (Source: Monument Australia)
Summary: One of only two known equestrian statues of King George V in Australia, the other being in
Brisbane. This statue was made in England and shipped to Australia like the memorials in Canberra and
Melbourne. Its sculptor, though of Australian parentage, never lived in Australia. The sculpture was designed
in London.
Conservatory Gardens Bendigo
Heritage Listing
History
Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register under
Rosalind Park
Unveiled: November 1939
Sculptor: John Elischer (1891–1966)
Location: Conservatory Gardens (within Rosalind
Park), Bendigo
Said to be the first memorial cast in Australia in the
European Style, this bronze statue stands in the
Conservatory Gardens, Bendigo.
Figure 3.7 King George V Memorial, Bendigo.
(Source: Monument Australia)
Austrian born Elischer practised in Europe before
arriving in Australia in 1935. In 1926 he won an
international competition for the South African
Memorial to General Botha. Elischer’s other
commissions for sculptures in Australia include a
bronze fountain for Sir Russell Grimwade in Toorak
and a bust of Archbishop Mannix for Newman
College, University of Melbourne. He won a prize for
medal design in 1951 issued to commemorate the
50th Anniversary of the Commonwealth of Australian
Schools.
Summary: The only known statue in Australia of King George V in civilian clothes and said to be the first
memorial cast in Australia in the European Style. As with all other King George V statues, it is made of
bronze and stands on a stone plinth.
38
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3.8.2 War Memorials along Anzac Parade Canberra
ANZAC Parade, designed as a memorial precinct in 1965 is used for ceremonial occasions and is
the site of many major military memorials. Most of these have been constructed in more recent
years, the first being the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial built in April 1968. The War Memorial
building itself was constructed in the Art Deco style from 1929–1941 and is further examined in
Section 3.8.3. Below are a few examples of the memorials along Anzac Parade.
Table 3.2 War Memorials along Anzac Parade, Canberra.
Australian Army National Memorial
This is a memorial to these Australians—in all wars,
campaigns and peace operations—and to the continuing
tradition of service and excellence.
This memorial also reminds visitors of the importance of the
Australian Digger in the formation of national character and
sentiment. The term 'digger' was first used to describe
Australian soldiers during the trench warfare of the World War
I.
Designed by sculptors Joan Walsh Smith and Charles Smith in
collaboration with architects Ken Maher and Partners, the
central focus of the memorial is two bronze figures
representing Australian soldiers facing east towards the rising
sun. The figures stand on a raised podium paved in a radial
pattern, which refers to the army insignia.
Figure 3.8 Australian Army National
Memorial, Anzac Parade, Canberra.
(Source: Monument Australia)
Seven cylindrical pillars recall the seven major conflicts in
which the Australian Army has been involved in the twentieth
century. The pillars stand in water, reminding the visitor of the
long sea journeys involved in all Australian campaigns.
Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
This was the first memorial to be constructed on Anzac Parade
in 1968. The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial commemorates
all the Australian Mounted Divisions, the Australian Flying
Corps and every other Australian and New Zealand unit and
formation that served in Egypt, Palestine and Syria from 1916
to 1918.
The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial is a free-standing, cast
bronze figurative sculpture, set on a granite base. It depicts a
mounted Australian Light Horseman defending a New
Zealander who stands beside his wounded horse.
The original memorial was in Port Said, Egypt. However,
Egyptian nationalists destroyed it during the 1956 Suez crisis.
This memorial was created by noted Melbourne sculptor, Ray
Ewers OAM. It is a second casting—a recreation—of the
original sculpture by Australian sculptor, Webb Gilbert.
Figure 3.9 Desert Mounted Corps
Memorial, Anzac Parade, Canberra.
(Source: Monument Australia)
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New Zealand Memorial
Constructed in 2001 as a gift from the New Zealand
Government, this memorial is located at the southern
(Constitution Avenue) end of Anzac Parade.
It symbolises the Anzac experience, still one of the most
evocative links between Australia and New Zealand.
The design of the memorial consists of a bronze representation
of the handles of a flax basket (kete harakeke). Woven flax is
a particularly strong element in New Zealand culture. The
design is based on a traditional Maori proverb 'Mau tena kiwai
o te kete, maku tenei' ('each of us at a handle of the basket').
Figure 3.10 New Zealand Memorial,
Anzac Parade, Canberra. (Source:
Monument Australia)
Rats of Tobruk Memorial
Based on the 1941 memorial in the Tobruk War Cemetery built by
Australian soldiers during the siege, which has since been
destroyed. The inscription stone, the only surviving relic of the
original memorial, and at one time a front step of the Tobruk Post
Office, is incorporated.
The memorial, designed by architects Denton Corker Marshall,
takes the form of an obelisk. Surrounding walls portray the
perimeter defences and the design recalls the area in which the
siege took place. The coastline and harbour are to the front and
the defence positions flank the rear of the memorial. The Eternal
Flame, fabricated from bronze, was created by Marc Clark and
installed in 1984.
Figure 3.11 Rats of Tobruk Memorial,
Anzac Parade, Canberra. (Source:
Monument Australia)
3.8.3 Memorials in Australia, c1930s–1940s
The following are examples of monuments and memorials constructed at a similar time to the King
George V memorial in front of Old Parliament House Canberra. Many were designed by the same
sculptors who designed the King George V memorials throughout Australia. They are of a similar
style being a statue on a stone podium–both the Anzac Memorial, Sydney, and the Shrine of
Remembrance, Melbourne, were built in the Art Deco Style.
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Table 3.3 Memorials in Australia constructed at a similar date (Art Deco period) to the King George V
Memorial in Canberra.
Australian Memorials c1920s–30s
Information about the Memorial
Adam Lindsay Gordon Memorial, Melbourne
Unveiled: 1931
Sculptor: Paul Montford
Location: Gordon Reserve, Spring Street, Melbourne
Bronze statue of horseman and poet Adam Lindsay
Gordon on a sandstone pedestal. The sculptor Paul
Montford was rewarded for his work, receiving the gold
medal of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Heritage Listing
National Trust
Heritage Victoria (Gordon Reserve) H0047
Figure 3.12 The Adam Lindsay Gordon Statue,
Gordon Reserve Melbourne. (Source: Globe
Vista)
Anzac War Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney
Opened: 1934
Architect: Bruce Dellit
Sculptor: George Rayner Hoff
Location: Anzac Memorial Sydney
A superb example of the Art Deco style combined with
fine sculpture in a large monument set atop a rise in
Hyde Park.
Hoff designed all the sculptures for the Anzac Memorial
in Sydney which included the monumental bronze
sculpture of the deceased youth representing a soldier
held aloft on his shield by a caryatid and three figures
representing a mother, sister and wife. This is the only
naked male form in any war memorial and was very
controversial at the time of construction.
Hoff also designed the external stone sculptures
representing military personnel and two bronze friezes
carved in granite relief panels representing Australian
soldiers on the battlefield.
Heritage Listing
NSW State Heritage Register
Sydney Council LEP
Register of National Estate (Non-Statutory)
Figure 3.13 Sculptures from the Anzac Memorial
by GR Hoff, Hyde Park, Sydney. (Source:
Wikipedia)
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Australian Memorials c1920s–30s
Information about the Memorial
Cenotaph, Martin Place, Sydney
Unveiled: 1929
Sculptor: Sir Bertram Mackennal
Location: Martin Place, Sydney
On the 8 March 1926, the Premier, Mr Jack Lang,
indicated that the government would provide a sum of
ten thousand pounds for the commissioning of Sir
Bertram Mackennal to undertake the project of the
design and erection of the Cenotaph, to be completed by
25 April 1929. Two statues representing a soldier and a
sailor stand at each end of the memorial.
Heritage Listing
NSW State Heritage Register
City of Sydney LEP Martin Place Special Area
Register of National Estate (Non-Statutory)
Figure 3.14 Cenotaph, Martin Place, Sydney
showing figures of soldier and sailor designed by
sculptor Bertram Mackennal. (Source: Wikipedia)
Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne
Description
Opened: 1934
Designer: Philip B Hudson and James H Wardrop
Sculptor for stone statues: Paul Montford
Location: Domain Road, Melbourne
The Shrine of Remembrance is Victoria's principal war
memorial, constructed on a prominent elevated site
south of the city, on a north-south axis with Swanston
Street and St Kilda Road.
A competition for the design of the World War One
memorial was held in 1923, with the winning design by
returned servicemen, Philip B Hudson and James H
Wardrop.
Figure 3.15 Shrine of Rememberance,
Melbourne. (Source: Onmydoorstep.com)
Stone sculptures were integral to the design of the
exterior and British sculptor Paul Montford was
commissioned to undertake this work.
Heritage Listing
Victorian Heritage Register: VHR H0848
National Trust (Non-Statutory)
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Australian Memorials c1920s–30s
Information about the Memorial
Man with the Donkey, Shrine of
Remembrance, Melbourne
Description
Unveiled: 1935
Sculptor: Wallace Anderson
Location: Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne
By sculptor Wallace Anderson, an iconic image of a
stretcher-bearer with his donkey carrying a wounded
comrade, epitomizes the courage and compassion of the
Australian soldier. In 1935, Wallace Anderson's design
for the memorial was selected though a competition
organised by the Australian Red Cross. Anderson had
served during the war and worked at the Australian War
Memorial after his return. His Man with the Donkey was
cast in Italy and, after some debate, was sited near the
shrine
Heritage Listing
Included in Shrine of Remembrance Listing
Figure 3.16 Man with the Donkey Memorial.
(Source: Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne)
Victorian Heritage Register: VHR H0848
National Trust (Non-Statutory)
3.8.4 Interwar Art Deco Design in Canberra
The emergence of the modern movement was the most significant architectural development during
the years between the two World Wars. Public building in Canberra during this interwar period was
limited and few examples remain.
Architects in Canberra who built in this style include E H Henderson and Cuthbert Whitley.
Features include:

suggestion of arrested vertical or horizontal motion;

symmetry;

stepped skyline or silhouette;

decorative elements concentrated on the upper part of the building;

three dimensional quality in massing and detailing;

vertical and horizontal fins, zigzags, streamlined effects;

geometric curves, stylised effects;

materials include polished granite, Vitrolite, sandstone and textured face brickwork;

chrome plated steel used for shopfronts and commercial interiors;

metal framed windows; and

use of stylised typefaces.
Canberra examples of the Art Deco style built in the interwar period are listed in the following table.
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Table 3.4 Interwar Art Deco buildings in Canberra.
Interwar Art Deco buildings in Canberra
Image
Manuka Swimming Pool
The historic Manuka Pool was completed in 1930. It is
an exceptional work of Federal Art Deco style
designed by Principal Architect E H Henderson.
Heritage Listing
CHL ‘Manuka Swimming Pool and Associated
Buildings’ (Place ID: 13330)
Register or the National Estate (Non-Statutory)
Figure 3.17 Entrance to Manuka Swimming Pool.
(Source: <www.visitCanberra.com.au>)
Canberra School of Art
Opened in 1939 as Canberra High School, from 1969
it was known as the City Education Centre and in
1992 it became the ANU Institute of the Arts.
Heritage Listing
CHL ‘Canberra School of Art’ (Place ID: 105765)
Register or the National Estate (Non-Statutory)
Figure 3.18 Canberra School of Arts. (Source:
<www.canberrahouse.com>)
National Film and Sound Archives
Completed in 1930 as the Australian Institute of
Anatomy, this was one of the last major projects of the
Federal Capital Commission. It was built to house the
anatomy collection of Professor Sir Colin MacKenzie.
The building was formally opened as the National Film
and Sound Archives by Prime Minister Bob Hawke on
3 October 1984.
Heritage Listing
CHL ‘Australian Institute of Anatomy (former)’ (Place
ID: 13261)
Register or the National Estate (Non-Statutory)
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Figure 3.19 National Film and Sound Archives.
(Source: Australian Heritage Database)
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Interwar Art Deco buildings in Canberra
Image
Old Parliament House
Opened in 1927 as ‘Provisional Parliament House’,
this building was designed by John Smith Murdoch,
Chief Architect in the Department of Works. It
remained the home of Australia’s Federal Parliament
until New Parliament House opened in 1988.
Heritage Listing
CHL ‘Old Parliament House and Curtilage’ (Place ID:
105318)
NHL ‘Old Parliament House and Curtilage’ (Place ID:
105774
Register or the National Estate (Non-Statutory)
Figure 3.20 Old Parliament House, Canberra.
(Source: National Library of Australia pican23490819)
Ainslie Primary School
First primary school built by the Commonwealth in
Canberra in 1927.
Heritage Listing
CHL Ainslie Primary School (Place ID: 13342)
Register or the National Estate (Non-Statutory)
Figure 3.21 Ainslie Primary School. (Source:
Australian Heritage Database)
Australian War Memorial
Built from 1929–1941, the Australian War Memorial
stands as one of Canberra's earliest major examples
of Australian Art Deco architecture. Designed as a
joint venture between Emil Sodersteen and John
Crust, the design is primarily Sodersteen's work. The
design drew upon the recent development of the Art
Deco style.
Heritage Listing
CHL Australian War Memorial (Place ID: 105469)
NHL Australian War Memorial and Memorial Parade
(Place ID 105889)
Register or the National Estate (Non-statutory)
Figure 3.22 Australian War Memorial. (Source:
Australian Heritage Database)
3.9 Conclusion: Comparative Analysis
This comparative assessment confirms that King George V Memorial is one of eight known
memorials commissioned in Australia following the death of King George V in 1936. All were
designed by different Australian sculptors with four being cast in Australia and four cast overseas.
All are made of bronze and stand on a granite base of differing proportions. It is therefore not a rare
memorial to King George V, but an important one in Canberra for its location, historical context and
Art Deco style.
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The King George V Memorial in front of Old Parliament House. is one of three that depict the King
in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter. Three of the memorials appear to have been
constructed in the Art Deco style.
As noted in the CHL citation for King George V Memorial, it is one of seven other Art Deco
structures built during the interwar period in Canberra and the only memorial, rather than a building,
in the style. These seven structures are all important to Canberra, recognised by their heritage
listing.
In summary, the King George V Memorial is an important monument in Canberra, predating the
memorials on Anzac Parade. More broadly, within Australia the King George V Memorial is a good
representative example of the Art Deco style from the mid-1930s. The statue commemorates King
George V, who was the monarch at the time of the opening of the Provisional Parliament House
which heralded a major formative period in the development of Canberra. The King George V
Memorial is a substantial Canberra example of a place which tangibly reflects the importance of the
Australian Head of State within the Australian system of government.
3.10 Historic Themes
3.10.1 Australian Historic Themes Relevant to King George V Memorial
The Commonwealth has developed a framework of ‘Australian Historic Themes’ to assist with
identifying, assessing, interpreting and managing heritage places and their values. Using historic
themes can assist with focusing on the historical values of a place and how these values are
represented physically in the place and/or wider context.
The Australian Historic Themes provide a context for assessing heritage values. The themes are
linked to human activities in their environmental context. Themes link places to the stories and
processes which formed them, rather than to the physical ‘type’ of place represented. Australian
Historic Themes are grouped together by an overarching historic theme, which is further divided into
more specific themes and sub-themes. Historic Theme Groups relating to the memorial are listed in
Table 3.5 below.
Table 3.5 Australian Historic Theme Groups for King George V Memorial.
Number
Historic Theme Group
Sub-theme
3
Developing Local, Regional and
National Economies
Constructing Capital City Economies
Developing an Australian Engineering and Construction
Industry
Catering for Tourists
4
7
Building Settlements, Towns and
Cities
Planning Urban Settlements—Creating Capital Cities
Governing
Federating Australia
Remembering Significant Phases in the Development of
Settlements, Towns and Cities
Administering Australia
Defending Australia
Establishing Regional and Local Identity
8
Developing Australia’s Cultural Life
Honouring Achievement
Remembering the Fallen
Commemorating Significant Events
Pursuing Excellence in the Arts and Sciences
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Figure 3.23 Detail of the Griffins’ 1911 winning
design. (Source: NCA 2004, p 15)
Figure 3.24 1930s view looking north towards Mount
Ainslie from Old Parliament House. (Source: National
Archives Australia)
Figure 3.25 c1939 view looking north towards
Mount Ainslie showing King George V Memorial
with blank face fronting Old Parliament House.
The two circular flower gardens can be seen in
the square terraces either side of the memorial.
The War Memorial is shown under construction at
the foot of Mount Ainslie. (Source: National
Library of Australia PIC/6132/10)
Figure 3.26 1956 view looking north towards Mount
Ainslie showing Lake Burley Griffin under construction.
The newly constructed Administrative Building (now the
John Gorton Building) is shown to the right of Old
Parliament House near the lake. (Source: National
Capital Authority)
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Figure 3.27 The official opening of the King
George V Memorial in 1953 showing the military
and naval parade. (Source: Old Parliament
House Research Collection, photographer: RC
Strangman.)
Figure 3.28 1962 view of the King George V Memorial in
its original location in front of Old Parliament House, it
was a popular stop with tourists to Canberra. (Source:
National Archives of Australia: A1500, K9392)
Figure 3.29 1966 aerial showing the King George
V Memorial in its original location in front of Old
Parliament House. (Source: National Archives
A463/32)
Figure 3.30 1970 image of the King George V Memorial
in its new location on a much reduced base. This image
indicates how its presence and scale have been
diminished. (Source: National Archives of Australia:
A1500, K25898)
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Figure 3.31 1992 image showing rear of tent
embassy fronting Old Parliament House and
new location of the King George V Memorial.
(Source: National Library of Australia, nla.picvn5781414 Photographer: Bob Miller)
Figure 3.32 c. 1972 image showing the King George V
Memorial continues to be used as a meeting point for
protests. (Source: Bruce McGuiness Collection:
<http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb7
2> Photographer: Bruce McGuiness)
Figure 3.33 Aboriginal Tent Embassy on 26 January 2002 on former site of the King George V Memorial.
(Source: National Library of Australia, nla.pic-vn3506422. Photographer: Loui Seselja)
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Figure 3.34 1967 site plan showing proposed new location and new orientation for the King George V
Memorial. (Source: Bunning & Madden Architects, Canberra and Sydney)
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